Man dies at 116th
subway station
Investigators say teen’s death
was likely a suicide

BY KIM KIRSCHENBAUM
Spectator Senior Staff Writer

courtesy of columbia university

MR. PRESIDENT | French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke to a packed room Monday at Columbia’s World Leaders Forum. He took audience
questions about education and health care, remarking, “Welcome to the club of states that don’t turn their backs on the sick and the poor.”

French president speaks at World Leaders Forum

Just weeks after University
President Lee Bollinger celebrated the opening of a Global Center
in Paris, French President Nicolas
Sarkozy made a bold speech at
Columbia’s World Leaders Forum
Monday morning.
Sarkozy, whose visit was announced last week, spoke in
French to a packed house about
rethinking market and governance models, and putting pressure on nations that may pose a
threat. He was accompanied by
his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.
Students braved rain and cold
for the speech, some waiting outside for hours. But despite registering for the event, some students were turned away due to
space limitations. Students who

hadn’t registered also lined up
outside, hoping for an open seat.
In a rousing speech at Low
Library, Sarkozy called for
stricter economic regulations
and a tougher front against
nations that pose a threat. He
also, when asked, dipped into
American domestic policy in
what Emmanualle Saada, director of the Center for French
and Francophone Studies, said
was a “very, very ambitious political speech.”
“He really used Columbia as a
point of entry into the American
public opinion,” she said.
“In following him, one has the
sense that he is more inclined
than most to express his views
as they are, regardless of the political consequences that might
follow,” University President Lee
Bollinger said of Sarkozy. “I do

Course load reduced for
Barnard faculty
Boylan said the cuts are
coming not from the recession
or cutbacks in Barnard spendBarnard course offerings in ing, but at the request of prothe humanities and social sci- fessors—who had told adminences will be cut by 6 percent istrators that their top priority
in the upcoming fall semester, in improving Barnard faculty
according to Barnard Provost life was reducing course loads.
Elizabeth Boylan.
Some research universities, inProfessors typically teach cluding Columbia, already have
two courses in the fall semester professors teaching only four
and three courses in the spring classes per school year.
semester.
Despite
Starting next
the slight
fall, profesreduction
sors will inin course
stead teach
offerings
two courses
per year,
per semesBoylan said
ter. After
that stuongoing
dents will
—Barnard Professor most likely
discussions
between
notice
Peter Platt not
adminisa change
trators and
since the
Barnard and Columbia faculty, classes offered at Barnard and
as well as the Barnard Student Columbia are combined.
Government Association, the
“All of our students will be
change in professors’ course taught. There will be no reduction
loads was officially announced in our teaching load,” she said.
on March 29.
“Having to teach this extra
“There has been growing con- course separated us from our
cern over the last several years peer institutions and made
that many of our peer liberal arts scholarship—a serious expeccolleges have been reducing the tation for tenured and tenurenumber of class preparations a track faculty at Barnard—all
faculty member had to do each
year,” Boylan said.
SEE BARNARD, page 2
BY AMANDA EVANS
Spectator Staff Writer

“Having to teach this
extra course separated us from our peer
institutions.”

sense that he is unafraid of controversy,” he added.
While Sarkozy stressed the
importance of the EuropeanAmerican connection, he warned
the United States to be wary. “In
Europe, we are your friends, your
European friends. We in Europe
admire you. You need not worry
about that. However, in Europe,
what we want is to be heard, to be
listened to by the United States of
America, that we should put our
heads together and think together. You belong to a country that
is the world’s number one power.
… And you have to think about
this very carefully, because what
does that mean, to be the world’s
number one power?”
This was indicative of a pattern Saada saw in Sarkozy’s
speech—an eagerness to discuss
Europe as a whole, rather than

simply France. This, she said,
shows the importance of Europe
for Sarkozy, and that the “partner
for the United States is Europe”
and not simply France.
Sarkozy also called for tougher
economic rules and regulations.
“World economic regulation can
no longer stand still,” he said, adding, “A few hundred irresponsible
hotheads did mad things on the
stock market, with derivatives,
with other people’s money. Do you
think we can defend capitalism …
when there is so much injustice? I
don’t think so because it is impossible to defend.”
Sarkozy added: “When the decision was taken not to bail out
Lehman Brothers, we would have
liked to be sounded out. … That
is solidarity.”
SEE SARKOZY, page 2

embry owen / senior staff photographer

STATION | Officials say a young adult jumped to his death at the 116th
Street station. They confirmed he was not a Columbia student.

Councils vote in favor of earlier academic year
While the University Senate
Education Committee may continue to dismiss a proposal that
would start school before Labor
Day, student councils won’t let go
so easily.
The Columbia College Student
Council approved the proposal
Sunday night, and the Engineering
Student Council voted unanimously in favor of it Monday night.
The General Studies Student
Council will vote on the proposal
Tuesday night. Barnard’s Student
Government Association is also
planning a vote in the near future.
The proposal itself is the joint
product of the four undergraduate councils in anticipation of the
University Senate’s plenary meeting on Friday, where a formal vote
to resolve the issue may take place.
“More than any other year
that at least I can remember, all
four councils are working on this.
And that’s not something that’s
easy to do,” CCSC president Sue
Yang, CC ’10, said.
“This time around we ensured there were enough people
involved in the formulation, that
we were looking at data, reaching
out to the administrators, looking at other Ivies… really doing
the most detailed proposal possible,” ESC president-elect Chris
Elizondo, SEAS ’11, said.

The document, posted on the against this proposal,” Green said. exhaust it already,” Applegate
CCSC website Monday morning,
“We’re not going to be so na- said. “People want to spend
proposes shifting the fall calen- ïve that [students] should be the time with their kids. And since
dar to begin one week earlier on only audience they should serve,” NYC public schools run right
the four years when Labor Day Yang said. “We have really genu- up to Christmas anyway, ending
is late, or on September 5, 6, or inely tried to understand the other earlier does nothing. For me,
7 in 2011, 2015, 2016, and 2020. components, and yet we don’t sense starting a week before Labor
51%is an exchange of time that’s
According to the proposal, this that anyone up there in those murky Day
left campus on 12/23/09
would “alleviate the compression echelons are trying to understand very valuable for time that’s virthat would otherwise be experi- where we’re
tually useless.”
15%coming from.”
enced at the end of these 4 fall left Columbia
Since mid-April, the Education
on 12/24/09 provides a back-up
terms,” where finals would end care program to subsidize up to Committee had been formulating
on Dec. 23.
100 hours of family care each year a proposal to hold school
78%on the
Monday
The proposal comes two weeks beginning
July 1.byAccording
to of the
had family planson
interrupted
the late conclusions
semester before Election Day and
after co-chair Jim Applegate, the council’s proposal, starting a finals on the weekend. Yang and
52% remarked that both opspeaking on behalf of the week early would require more Green
faced increased
costsprogram or the
Education Committee of the funding
fortravel
this
tions were undesirable for stuUniversity Senate, dismissed the creation of a day camp or child dent constituency, and said they
20% for that week.
option of starting a week before care program
have been in conversations with
paid over $500 for travel means
Labor Day. Since New York City
“The back-up care program
public schools begin after Labor 0is there,
use
10 and people
20
30 it and
40
50 SEE CALENDAR,
60
70page 2 80
percent of students surveyed
Day, faculty members voiced conFour-Council
Student
cern that the need to provide day
745 respondents:
74% CC, 16% SEAS, 8% GS,
2% Barnard; 17%Calendar
Seniors, 26% Juniors,Survey
28% Sophomores, 28% first years
care would be compromising to
professors with young children.
51%
In crafting the student coun- left campus on 12/23/09
cil proposal, Yang and current
745 respondents: 74% CC, 16% SEAS, 8% GS, 2% Barnard;
20%
ESC president Whitney Green,
17% Seniors, 26% Juniors, 28% Sophomores, 28% first years
SEAS ’11, said their committees left campus on 12/24/09
reached out to various stake78%
holders within the faculty and
had family plans interrupted by the late conclusion of the semester
administration, including department chairs and the Office
15%
of Work/Life.
faced increased travel costs
“From the Senate perspective, it seems that all faculty are
52%
against the proposal. However, paid over $500 in travel costs
the faculty we’ve surveyed—
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
I’ve spoken to all the SEAS de- 0
% students surveyed
partments—it’s not 100 percent

Sports, page 6

Opinion, page 4

BY EMILY KWONG
Spectator Staff Writer

graphic by betsy feldman

BY AMBER TUNNELL
Spectator Senior Staff Writer

A man was hit and killed by
a downtown 1 train Monday
morning at the 116th Street
station, police officers on site
confirmed.
Metropolitan Transportation
Authority workers and police officers said that it was likely a suicide, though the official cause of
death is being investigated.
A New York Police
Department detective, who requested anonymity, said the victim was not a Columbia student
and that he was born in 1991, according to identification found
on the man’s body.
An official NYPD spokesperson confirmed that emergency medical technicians declared the victim dead at the
scene. A spokesperson said
release of the identity was still
pending family notification as
of Monday evening, but that
investigators had ruled out any
criminal intent in this case—
no one pushed the victim onto
the tracks.
A MTA supervisor who arrived on site at approximately
11:40 a.m. said that the body
was disfigured from a front-end
collision.

Another MTA official added
that the man died on impact.
Investigator Anthony Braxton
of the MTA, who was examining the scene after the 1 train
resumed operations, said the incident happened near the north
end of the platform when the
train first entered the station.
He said the train operator braked
immediately after the young man
jumped, but the victim had already been hit.
Police officers and MTA employees tried to redirect passengers to alternative routes.
They used a megaphone to announce that downtown service
on the 1 train was suspended
to 96th Street. Passengers described the scene as one of chaos and confusion.
“This has been a nightmare,”
Juliet Cameron, a local commuter, said. “These people have been
switching me to everywhere except where I want to go.”
Officers were patrolling the
platform of the closed-off downtown side. Downtown service on
the 1 train resumed at approximately 12:50 p.m.
A University spokesperson
said that Columbia could not yet
comment on the situation.
kim.kirschenbaum
@columbiaspectator.com

INSIDE
A&E, page 3
Quick-fix picnics for
students with spring fever

Lions struggle to find
consistency on mound

From the classy to the cheap to the
downright lazy, picnics of all varieties are giving students the chance
to experience a simple yet delicious
meal outdoors—both on campus
and in Columbia’s surrounding
public parks.

Columbia baseball has benefited
from strong offensive output this year
but has struggled mightily to keep
opponents off the board. If the Light
Blue hopes to capture the Ivy League
crown, it will need to find a way to
protect the leads its offense builds.

Today’s Events

The great outdoors

Future of Media Panel

Amanda Gutterman seeks to put
the wild back in nature.

Media executives share tips and tales
of the trade.
Center for Career Education, 6 p.m.

To the picket lines

Gender in Translation

Students in the California university
systems spark peaceful protest.

A lecture on English-language translators and their influence on novels.
223 Milbank, 6 p.m.

E-MAIL

info@columbiaspectator.com

PHONE

(212) 854-9555

WEATHER
Today

Tomorrow

51 / 40

59 / 46

Page 2

NEWS

March 30, 2010

jack zietman / staff photographer

WORLD LEADER | French President Nicolas Sarkozy braved the rain with his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Students lined up on Low Steps to hear him speak, though some were turned away when the event filled up.

SARKOZY from front page
The president also pushed
for a change in the structure
of international organizations.
When speaking about the
United Nations, he remarked,
“If we don’t change world
governance, we don’t stand a
chance of being able to manage
tomorrow’s conflicts—for Iran,
where we need to show total
firmness, and that must not
be allowed to get its hand of
nuclear weapons, we need the
support of China and Russia to
have sanctions.”

“When faced with terrorism,
we cannot stand divided,” he said.
An audience member asked
Sarkozy about his country’s
health care system, giving him
an opportunity to comment
on American domestic policy.
“Health care is expensive. But
you can’t let people simply die.
... If you come to France and
something happens to you, you
won’t be asked for your credit
card before you’re rushed to the
hospital,” he said.
“Welcome to the club of states
that don’t turn their backs on the
sick and the poor,” he added.

Saada called his remarks on
health care in the United States
“bold,” but noted, “He was reflecting a very deep feeling that
French people had when witnessing the American debate
this summer.”
While his comments may
have been blunt, Saada said
he was more conservative in
France when speaking on issues such as unemployment
and regulating capitalism. “In
France, he has a much tougher
attitude,” she said.
Students’ reasons for wanting to attend the event varied.

Alan Krill, a graduate student at
SIPA, said he came to the speech
because “French and U.S. relations have been rocky over the
past decade.” He added that he
would like to see how the countries could form a mutually beneficial alliance.
Jamie Brodsky, a student at the
Business School, said, “I work in
finance in New York. I wanted to
get his take on the world,” specifically the global economic situation.
Student reactions to Sarkozy’s
address were mixed.
“I enjoyed his calls for responsibility as the world’s

number one power, as well as
his desire to increase dialogue
between our two countries,”
Derek Turner, CC ’12 and director of communications for
College Republicans, said in an
email. “However, his thoughts
on controlling the price of oil,
increasing global governance,
and drastically increasing regulation surprised me. Not only
would these attempts be pointless, but they would stand a good
chance of severely limiting our
sovereignty and freedom as a
nation.”
Patricia Klaric, CC ’13, said that

Sarkozy was “clear and engaging.”
“It wasn’t a debate or anything … he seemed to know
that we didn’t know that much
about situations going on in
France,” she said.
“I thought his speech was a
little trite, but his suggestion
for a regulated global monetary
system was provocative,” Adam
Kuerbitz, CC ’12, said in an
email. “And the three consecutive seconds I saw Carla Bruni
made it worth standing in the
rain for an hour to get in.”
amber.tunnell
@columbiaspectator.com

Council leaders lobby for school year to start before Labor Day
CALENDAR from front page
the Education Committee to voice
these concerns.
“The faculty don’t want to
start before Labor Day because
they want time with their families. Well, fall break is a time
when a lot of students go home to
visit their families and friends. It’s
the same argument, but I think

its being weighed a lot differently because we’re students, and I
don’t think that’s fair,” Green said.
Elizondo voiced a similar point.
“I’m concerned that, in the event
students lose their holiday, that
might in fact be detrimental to
student life and individual student
health. We’re here at CU to learn,
not to learn how to go crazy.”
Applegate said the plan to

eliminate Election Day Monday has
stalled in light of the proposal and
recent conversations with student
council members. He admitted surprise at the high value being placed
on the Election Day Monday.
“If the maintenance of the
Election Day holiday is the highest priority on the student end,
then it’s likely we’re back to the
status quo,” he said. “There’s no

Barnard profs to teach fewer classes
BARNARD from front page
but impossible to carry out in
the dreaded ‘term of three,’”
Professor Peter Platt, chair
of the English department at
Barnard, said in an email.
He added, “President Spar
recognized that the burden
of this extra course was significant: that faculty members
might not come to Barnard
because of having to teach the
extra course; and that faculty
members might leave Barnard
because of the extra work load.”
Professors, according to
Boylan, had brought forward a
group mantra: “No fewer students, just one less preparation.” All professors will teach
the same number of students,
regardless of instructing one
fewer class. Teaching the same
number of students with one
fewer class, though, may mean
an increase in the number of
students per class.
Boylan said there was some
concern about professors’ abilities
to maintain close contact between
students and faculty both inside
and outside of the classroom.
ADDRESS & EMAIL

“We have done an analysis
of the distribution in class size,
and while there may be fewer
classes per semester, there will
be more students allowed in
each class,” she said. “Some
seminars have between five
and 12 students, and it would
not change the experience to
increase a class from five to
12—in fact, it might enhance
the class discussion and quality overall.”
Seminars capped at 16 may
now be capped at 18, which
could allow more popular classes to be taken by a greater number of students.
While Boylan said that students will most likely not notice
a change in the courses, some
students say that even a slight
increase will be noticeable.
“I really like taking smaller
classes. I think a class is a lot
better the smaller it is,” Talia
Harcsztark, BC ’13, said. “I would
notice even a change from 13 to
15 students, and I think other
students who prefer smaller
classes would notice too.”
“Students are going to be upset. As a political science major,
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it will directly affect me,” Kelly
Holloway, BC ’12, said. “How
are they deciding which classes
not to offer? I feel like it may
decrease the likelihood of new
classes being developed. You
won’t notice overall, but by department you will—if there are
seven professors in a department, that’s seven less classes.”
“The problem is that the
class sizes are already often bigger then promised for courses,
and Barnard already highlights
itself on small classes. So this
change is disappointing. I hope
I don’t feel the difference, but I
feel like the focus should have
been on making smaller classes—even if by two or three people. The best class I have ever
taken here was my first year
English, and it was the smallest
class I have ever taken,” Nina
Ahuja, BC ’12, said.
Boylan said that cutting
down professors’ course loads
will be considered successful “if
no student feels their expectations for classes aren’t met or
even notices a change.”
amanda.evans
@columbiaspectator.com
CORRECTIONS

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accurate reporting. If you know of an
error, please inform us at copy@columbiaspectator.com.

COMMENTS & QUESTIONS

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about the newspaper, please write to the
editor in chief and managing editor at
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CORRECTION
In the article “New meal plans revealed for fall,” Spectator incorrectly stated that upperclassmen would
have the option of purchasing a plan with 175 meals per week. The plan cited actually provides 175 meals
per term. Spectator regrets the error.
In the article “Three parties to compete for CCSC board,” Spectator incorrectly said that Eugenio Suarez
is the SGB secretary. He had been the treasurer. Spectator regrets the error.

way I’m talking to the faculty
about starting before Labor Day.”
Green did not consider maintaining the Election Day Monday
the highest student priority necessarily, but stressed its relative importance. “Within the context of
this discussion when we’re looking at possible options, the idea of
taking out Election Day Monday
is not met with enthusiasm or

interest by the students,” she said.
Applegate anticipates that discussion of both faculty and student
concerns will be furthered at the
Executive Committee meeting on
Wednesday and brought up at the
Senate’s plenary meeting on Friday.
Yang and Green are currently
reaching out to faculty for feedback.
“A lot of it seems very gray. …
We’re trying to distinguish what

are people’s personal opinions
versus what are the actual opinions back from the Education
Committee, what are the actual opinions back from faculty
members, because as it currently stands, they’re two different
things,” Green said. “And people
are acting as if they are one.”
emily.kwong
@columbiaspectator.com

March 30, 2010

Arts & Entertainment

Page 3

Life can be a picnic for undergraduates of all tastes

From the lazy to the cheap to the classy, campus picnics are a staple of springtime at Columbia

Although picnics typically conjure images of idle
afternoons spent lounging in lush grass alongside
the banks of some slowly twisting river, the pleasure of a picnic can be bought on the cheap. After
all, enjoying a meal outside costs nothing—food,
drinks, and accoutrements galore virtually come
extra. For a budget picnic, try the minimalist route,
eschewing fanciful sophistication for practicality.
The fastest and cheapest picnic food to consume—
sandwiches—does not need to taste like a second
choice. Forget artisanal bread and buy a serviceable
loaf at an ordinary supermarket. Lunch meats actually
come at a surprisingly low cost in small quantities,
so feel free to stock up on two of the less expensive
options from the deli counter. Try a combination of
ham and turkey, which provides a pleasant mix of
honeyed sweetness and raw salt. Use up old mayonnaise packets appropriated from fast food joints
or cafeterias, smearing that soft, vitamin-enriched
bread with heart-stopping goodness before slapping
down alternating slices of rose spiral ham and pale
turkey breast. For necessary crunch and moisture,
add a firm tomato slice. Make a frugal Rice Krispie
Treat by melting marshmallows in generic puffed
rice cereal, to create a utilitarian dessert that recalls
packed lunches and recesses spent under shady elms.
To save pennies, pack tap water chilled in the refrigerator or brew a strong iced tea. Then head out
to a grassy patch on the lawn or the Low Library
steps, taking a momentary break from a hectic
student day. With the potential to happen anywhere at any cost, picnics provide an opportunity
to make a cheap and average meal extraordinary.
—Jason Bell

Keep it classy with a
French-inspired meal
Every once in a while, it’s healthy to splurge on
good food. In preparation for the perfect French
picnic, head to Westside Market and pick up a
fine-quality whole wheat boule. Give the boule a
soft squeeze and listen for the cracking sound—
good bread is crunchy on the outside. Head over
to the cheese aisle, pick out some goat cheese,
and visit the baking aisle for honey. To add some
protein to the ideal springtime dish of honey, goat
cheese, and whole wheat boule bread, buy some
salmon lox. And, of course, no classic French
picnic would be complete without fresh fruit.
Grapes and berries complement the wheat bread
well, and the whole meal matches the student
budget—the food totals approximately $25.
For refreshments, Dean and Deluca offers the
best drinks for a sunny day in the park. Dean
and Deluca’s Elderberry Presse, Citron Presse,
or Golden Star White Jasmine Teas taste exotic,
transporting the drinker to the French countryside. These drinks only cost $5-$10 each for a
large bottle that easily serves four.
Finally, head into Central Park, blanket in hand
and wine glasses tucked away. A spot right in front
of the boathouse allows students to people-watch
and relax away from the stress of campus.
—Matt Powell

illustration by joanna wang

Penny pinchers enjoy the
options of seasonal eats

Even the tired will be inspired by nearly effortless outdoor culinary escapades

There’s the common perception that picnics require too much work for the slacker population at Columbia—people generally conjure images of neatly Saran-wrapped sandwiches and chicken
salad, red and white checkered blankets, and bug protectors. But in fact, picnics don’t require any of these—as long as one’s willing to suffer dirt and ants. A picnic can be the perfect afternoon
plan for the lazy student—it justifies languishing in the sun for hours on end as an actual social outing.
First off, don’t think that any student needs to own a textbook-definition picnic blanket. A couple of bleach-stained towels will serve nicely. If not, just use sheets—it will finally provide
motivation to wash them—unless you are highly tolerant of dirt.
As far as food goes, prepared is probably the slacker’s best bet. Milano Market has an extensive offering of pasta and potato salads. The market is the easiest option for sandwiches too, or if you’re too lazy
to make it by hand, purchase one of Milano’s fresh and high-quality baguettes and some sliced or spreadable cheese—cheddar’s too much work. Top off the meal with a six pack of Mike’s Hard Lemonade.
Lastly, forgo the basket—no one really cares—and just throw some utensils in a plastic bag. As for location, Morningside and Riverside require the least amount of walking. Central Park
around 110th Street is shaded and scenic, though, if the extra few blocks aren’t a bother.
The best part? When someone asks how the weekend was, the slacker can say, “I had a picnic” instead of “I just sort of sat around.” That’s not lazy—that’s outdoorsy.
­—Devin Briski

Photos of Haiti in St. Paul’s are a ‘Brut
Testament’ to the human condition
BY NICOLE SAVERY
Spectator Staff Writer
“Brut Testament: Visual
Images of Personal Responses
to the Haiti Tragedy” is a powerful statement of the
ART human spirit’s resilience in the face of unimaginable tragedy. The small
but varied collection of artwork gathered in the basement
of St. Paul’s Chapel provides
a thoughtful response to the
devastation in Haiti and offers
hope for the country’s recovery.
Co-curated by Katy Saintil,
senior program coordinator of Community Impact at
Columbia, and Kevin Ramone
Scott, an AmeriCorps VISTA
(Volunteers in Career Service
to America) member also
working with Community
Impact, the show was organized in collaboration with
the Office of the University
Chaplain as part of a campuswide effort to assist with the
rebuilding of Haiti.
All of the artwork on display will be sold to benefit
Haiti until the exhibit’s closing
date on April 7, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to
the Gawou Ginou Foundation
and the Haitian Alliance. By

the opening on Friday night,
several of the artworks had already been sold, and a number
of visitors expressed interest in
buying particular pieces.
Saintil describes the show as
a collective effort made possible
by Columbians and community
members. According to Saintil,
“The process of planning and
opening the show was itself a
brut testament of the power of
community, and of tapping into
our collective resources.”
A particularly interesting
aspect of the show is the variety of contributing artists and
the wide range of their personal experiences with Haiti.
While a number of the pieces
featured in the show are the
works of native Haitian artists,
many others were contributed
by artists working in New York
with connections to Columbia.
In a painting titled “Song”—
depicting a woman playing
a violin—the Haitian artist
Diems Joseph used dark colors
and heavy shadows to evoke a
melancholy mood, hinting at
inner sadness. The show’s program notes that it is unknown
whether Joseph, who lived in the
poverty-stricken neighborhood
of Carrefour in Port-au-Prince,
survived January’s earthquake.

Also included in the show
are a series of photographs by
Yi-Ching Lin, who is a development officer at Community
Impact in addition to being
a writer and photographer.
While Li’s photographs do not
have any obvious connection
to the tragedy in Haiti, she explains that she chose images
that “reflect the transience of
life, the beauty in its wear and
tear, and the innately human
ability to find uplifting gestures during difficult times.”
For instance, a set of three
photographs, taken just a few
seconds apart, show a pigeon
flying through the air to perch
momentarily on a windowsill.
For Saintil, whose own relatives fortunately survived the
earthquake, organizing “Brut
Testament” provided an outlet for action and a way to respond personally to the tragedy in Haiti. She explains, “I
was as interested in the process of healing and building
as I was in fundraising and
drives. While an art show is
only a modest effort given the
huge scale of the devastation
in Haiti, the sincerity of the
artists and curators involved
makes the message of ‘Brut
Testament’ a powerful one.”

courtesy of brian harris krinsky

SHORTER THAN FICTION | The movie ‘Dish’ centers on a 15-year-old boy named Israel who explores
his first homosexual relationship. The film continues the rise in popularity of LGBT shorts.

From growing tradition of LGBT movies,
‘Dish’ lends credit to short film genre
BY DANIEL VALELLA
Columbia Daily Spectator
LGBT cinema has grown
tremendously
since the beginning of the
21st century,
but none of
the groundbreaking motion pictures
of this period should be subsumed under the umbrella of
LGBT film—especially now, as
the genre branches out into short
films with new works like “Dish.”
A technically and conceptually brilliant focus on sexuality
has made films like Kimberly
Peirce’s “Boys Don’t Cry,” Ang
Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain,” and
Gus Van Sant’s “Milk” the leaders
of a new and powerful wave in
social-change cinema—especially in the United States. But one
mini-faction of American LGBT
filmmaking that tends to be overlooked is that of the short film.
In the past 10 years alone, more
than 30 LGBT film festivals have
cropped up around the country,
with most of them screening
films no longer than half an hour.

Change
in Focus

Fortunately, Wolfe Video has
come to the rescue. On April 6, the
company is releasing a collection of
six LGBT short films on its DVD
“Boycrazy.” The most interesting
and most decorated of the group is
Brian Harris Krinsky’s “Dish.”
“Dish”—with a running
time of 15 powerful minutes—
follows two gay teenagers as
they text message each other
about their classmates, their
bodies, and their sex lives.
Fifteen-year-old Israel (played
perfectly by Matthew Monge)
longs to break his “virgin status” after the older, more experienced Louie boasts about the
bed-moments of his past.
Although Israel’s standards
for sex seem comfortably idealist—that is, clean and romantic—everything changes when
he gets to spend time with
Ricky, his longtime attraction
whose parents are out of the
house. The cinematic result of
this exchange is “Dish” at its
absolute best—poignant, intelligent, and visually stunning.
A great deal of the short
film’s strength is its rightful persistence in examining
the sex lives of very young
(15-year-old) men. The images

work hand in hand with the
dialogue to tackle issues of
real-life profundity, never becoming cliché. To be sure, the
vast majority of LGBT films—
particularly those “coming-out
stories”—wallow in stereotypical corniness. “Dish” could not
be more antithetical in this regard. The characters (and the
actors as well) are as smart and
savvy as the filmmakers. Never
at all tedious, the film captures
Israel’s interiority—one of confusion but simultaneous conviction—so well that viewers
will insist upon his reality.
Not only are “Dish” and
all the other short films of
“Boycrazy” among the best of
the current LGBT movement
in cinema, but they are some of
the most brilliant films focusing
on social change today. “Dish”
is especially effective in altering
our thought processes, precisely
because it refuses to be preachy.
It challenges us to think for ourselves, yet still guides us on a
certain—and necessary—path.
Daniel Valella’s biweekly series Change in Focus takes on
the latest films influencing the
student activist scene.

For more information about the
Columbia Daily Spectator and
editorial policies, visit http://
www.columbiaspectator.com/
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CORRECTIONS

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inform us at copy@columbiaspectator.com.

COMMENTS & QUESTIONS

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questions about the newspaper,
please write to the editor in
chief and managing editor at
editor@columbiaspectator.com.

W

ith spring
in the air,
browsing
my Gmail inbox reveals a proliferation
of advertisements
from hiking and
camping programs.
A manda
These are programs
Gu t terman
designed to expose
cloistered and
The Far-Side
city chilof the Familiar fragile
dren—my earlier
self, and, somewhat
more tragically, my current self—translucent from the eerie glow of the computer
screen to the rugged and exciting world of
the outdoors.
You may ask why these people have my
email. As it turns out, I went camping for
a month in the Pacific Northwest through
just such a program during the summer
after my freshman year of high school,
which clearly sold my address to 20 or so
other like-minded organizations that now
voraciously try to make contact with me
over the Internet.
I am not interested, and it’s not because I’m
too old or too apathetic. In fact, if the opposite
of “apathetic” is “pathetic,” then I am completely pathetic to climate change, making an
earnest effort to recycle where possible—the
caps go in the other bin—and to conserve
electricity. Preserving the environment will
always top the list of my voting issues, and I

question the sanity of those who profess not
to believe in global climate change—as if the
matter belonged in the hazy religious lexicon
of “belief” and “disbelief.”
Despite the best of intentions, I must
profess that I think our generation—and
perhaps our progeny even more—has been
betrayed by a concept of wilderness that
set us up for disappointment. The idea of
the wild appeals intrinsically to children,
and, practically since birth, our imaginations are fully steeped in its visions.
In 1963, Maurice Sendak published
“Where the Wild Things Are,” a children’s
book that has recently enjoyed major motion picture-dom at the hands of Dave
Eggers and Spike Jonze. The simple plot
complicated as it stretched to fill the space
appraised at $7 to $12, but the underlying principles ring true. Young Max seeks
refuge from the parental punitive structures in the smothering social system of
his childhood. And where does he find
it? In the wild! This is a wild synonymous
with, “go wild!”—an environment where
the rules are inverted, allowing Max to
take on qualities of independence and
self-determination, barred from his wee
age demographic in the wild’s mundane
antithesis: reality.
Francis Spufford named “Where the
Wild Things Are” “one of the very few
picture books to make an entirely deliberate, and beautiful, use of the psychoanalytic story of anger.” Max, consciously or

Wake up and smell the crime

N

ot too long
ago, New
York City
reached a milestone concerning
its public image:
Changing conditions and the rise
Daniel
of a new generaA mz all ag
tion broke people’s
mental assoO ut si d e t h e
ciation between
G ate s
“New York” and
words like “crime,”
“dangerous,” and “ungovernable.” The
New York Police Department reached an
achievement more monumental than statistics can convey—people began to feel
safe and comfortable in the city. While
the NYPD and the past two mayors deserve the highest commendations for a
dramatic reduction in crime, problems
arise when attitudes of comfort give way
to complacency, and feelings of security
to ones of invincibility.
Historically low rates of violent crime
have the unfortunate effect of encouraging a feeling of total safety. It has become
easy to take public safety for granted and
treat it as a fixture of most Manhattan
neighborhoods. When crime does occur,
it is treated as a singular exception to a
reality free from danger. People use this
reasoning to make the specter of crime
seem excusable, non-threatening, and
removed from their daily lives.
Today’s danger lies in believing that
New York has become an invincible city,
one that could never return to the murder rates of the ’90s, regardless of budget
and personnel cuts to police forces.
Budget constrictions in the past few
years have driven politicians to lay off
NYPD officers by the thousands without
significant fear of rising crime rates. The
coming year’s budget plans from Mayor
Michael Bloomberg and Governor David
Paterson propose to bring the city’s police force to its lowest numbers in two
decades, meaning that the force will have
been slashed by 25 percent, or 10,000 officers, in the past 10 years alone.
Crime rates for 2010 thus far have
been slightly higher than they were at this
point in 2009, perhaps demonstrating the
ramifications of such cuts. The number
of reported murder, rape, felony assault,
and burglary cases has risen across the
city, and even more significantly in Upper
Manhattan—a pattern that is reflected in
Morningside Heights’ local precinct. The
numbers are compelling—in Northern
Manhattan, felony assaults have risen by
15.5 percent and burglaries by 13.3 percent, compared with the first three months
of 2009. But, even if they are not statistically significant, the connection between
police presence and crime reduction is obvious based on its correlation with bringing down crime rates in the past.
An expanded police department and
zero-tolerance policies were responsible
for the dramatic reductions in crime
in the ’90s, meaning that continued
personnel and salary cuts are sure to
begin reversing the trend. Heightened
law enforcement discouraged the culture of lawlessness that pervaded the
crack epidemic of the late ’80s, improving public safety by strengthening the

causal link between crime and punishment. A decreased police presence will
have the opposite effect—it will nurture
an assessment in the minds of wouldbe criminals that legal ramifications to
violent offenses are unlikely.
This change in the mindset of potential offenders will be disastrous if it is
not accompanied by a greater sensitivity on the part of law-abiding citizens.
Columbia students, who often regard
the likelihood of being a victim of a
crime with implausibility, are especially
vulnerable to the fallacy of invincibility.
Even the worst tragedies, such as crimerelated deaths, are excused by saying
that the victim was walking alone, too
late at night, or too far from campus.
Part of the problem is that Columbia
students are not empowered to contribute to finding solutions for the security
of our neighborhood. It is understandable that the University’s Department of
Public Safety must keep its procedures
and security measures secret, but the
department operates with little to no
interest in outside input. Even information about students’ habits and observations—for example, about security
breaches that may be obvious in students’ everyday lives—would be valuable to Public Safety’s mission.
The lack of transparency in Public
Safety is alarming, not only because it
precludes accountability, but also be-

Today’s danger lies in
believing that New York
has become an invincible
city.
cause it encourages students to think of
crime as unreal and alarmist. The current
University policy is to leave it to Public
Safety’s discretion whether to report a
neighborhood crime, allowing the department to protect its reputation when necessary. If students are to have serious awareness of the safety—or lack thereof—of
their neighborhood, the University must
adopt a procedure whereby Public Safety
is required, while respecting anonymity,
to publish each reported incident, even if
only on its website.
Students should be given a form of
redress over local security conditions,
beginning with forums for input on
Public Safety measures and protocols.
Creating town hall meetings, committees with student representatives,
or student task forces on public safety
would undoubtedly aid the Department
in cracking down on crime. Any such
reforms, however, must begin with
fundamental interest from students and
a heightened awareness of the reality of criminal victimization. We must
stop taking personal safety for granted,
before we can seriously take ownership
over our neighborhood.

subconsciously, is angry at the societal
structures that sent him to bed with no
dinner, and responds in a very psychologically normal—and visually interesting—
way, with his escape into the wild.
Next came “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss,

I think our
generation has been
betrayed by a concept of
wilderness that set us up
for disappointment.
a short story featuring a furry, yellowish
creature with a large mustache, who objects to the deforestation of Truffula Trees.
Truffula Trees are lush and soft, like palm
trees made of brightly colored faux fur.
“The Lorax” paints industry in stark opposition to the beauty of nature, encapsulated in these trees. On the page, the thick
Truffula fronds seemed almost tangible—
reading the story, I could taste them on
the tip of my tongue like cotton candy. The
wild became not only a stage for liberation,
but also a world of immense beauty accessible through the senses.
A few years later, Huckleberry Finn
and Jim would escape the society that

held each captive in his own right, fleeing
into the wilderness of uninhabited islands
on the Mississippi River. White Fang and
Robinson Crusoe followed close behind
them. Another few years, and Thoreau
abandoned the comforts of urban life for
Walden Pond, where his writing would
become the manual for self-sufficiency,
resourcefulness, and independence.
However, on a camping program, the
message to children is not “go wild!” but
rather, “don’t pick the flowers, don’t leave
the path, and don’t touch any plants—it’s
all poison ivy out there.” The wild has been
made a highly regularized, rule-governed
parent-space. Our paranoid culture of
lawsuits and intimidation has legislation to
match. Reserve your campsite online, bring
portable stove tops for fires, no fishing or
swimming. With good intentions, I’m sure.
But through generational memory I
recall a time, within the span of my father’s
stories, where hikers bushwhacked, built
lean-tos and campfires, and tasted wild
blueberries.
The wild has become a museum, and, I
suppose, retained a museum’s good qualities. But Max’s parents own it now, and I
don’t know if I can forgive them.
Amanda Gutterman is a Columbia College
first-year with an intended major in anthropology or comparative literature and society.
The Far-Side of the Familiar runs
alternate Tuesdays.

In defense of
peaceful anger

the American commander-in-chief. We would
have had 24 continuous years of just two families controlling our executive branch of government. At least Europeans who live under
dynasties and monarchies get harmless, superfluous old aristocrats who are just expected to
BY COSMO GUZZARDI
act dignified. We get Slick Willy and Dubya.
But, does it even matter whom we get anyOn March 5, a fire broke out on my beloved more? Many of those college students who
West Coast. That fire was in the form of local worked their hearts out admirably to affect the
protests by California college students angry last election cycle feel shortchanged for their efabout hefty fee increases within the California forts. Americans put a fresh face in the White
public university system. The protests turned na- House, who immediately invited all the usual
tional and, in some cases, devolved into rioting. suspects right back in. We didn’t even get a new
Wildfires are usually started by an unex- secretary of defense after Bush left office—an
pected spark of lightning, and are often cleans- apparent acknowledgment of that administraing and necessary to the ecosystem. And the tion’s stunning military successes.
fire I witnessed that Thursday in those angry
You have to hand it to America’s youth: For
young faces struck me the same way.
being one of the most maligned demographThe spark that set off these protests might ics in human history, we have been exceedingly
seem minor enough, taken by itself. The patient with the generation now approaching
fee increase amounts to about $2,300 per retirement—our parents, professors, employers,
year. That’s not peanuts, but it’s not neces- and legislators. These are the same folks who will
sarily an incentive to riot.
be the first American generation ever to leave a
But this lightning struck a pile of dried kin- less-prosperous country to their children.
dling that has been accumulating for some time.
If it seems like I’m conflating issues, I am.
Some University of California students have cir- Students have a whole lot more to be angry
culated a list of various administrative salaries, about than a hefty increase in student fees,
and it’s eye-opening, to say the least. Several and they know it. They’re not stupid—they
professors and administrators have earned know that, in the world they are inheriting,
over $300,000 in years during which they took their extremely expensive diplomas might be
months of extended leave. Some deputies have even more devalued than the Federal Reserve
assistant deputies who earn six figures and ben- notes in their wallets. They know that their
efits packages even more luxurious than those of generation will apparently always have ample
members of Congress or Teamsters.
opportunities to serve as infantry soldiers or
Now, imagine knowing this as a struggling cubicle drones, but not as much opportunity
student, trying to better your life through to pursue a good education or raise families
higher education. How do those cans of food in a peaceful, prosperous country. They know
and $200 textbooks in your dorm look now, that ambition and hope are becoming rare
knowing that the “Vice-Chancellor of Resource commodities among their peer group—they
Management and Planning” at your college are expected to subsidize Baby Boomer reearns $244,000 a year, plus perks such as—get tirements with “new policies” such as heath
this—subsidized low-interest home loans? insurance mandates and never-ending fee and
Maybe it’s not easy to get a home loan when tuition increases, while their civic voices are
you earn a paltry $244,000 a year. However, consistently ignored.
this is not an anomaly—there are literally hunTo paraphrase Billie Holiday, “God bless the
dreds of UC administrators who earn well over children who can hold their own.” Thank you,
$200,000 a year. It adds up to easily over $100 college protesters. The March 5 footage was a
million, borne in part by students who are sight for eyes swollen from reading articles after
nickel-and-dimed to financial ruin by their articles that now bring almost daily news of
skyrocketing tuitions.
some fresh, outrageous breach of public trust.
This absurd state of affairs is far too famil- Whether it’s something as serious as war or
iar in all of our important institutions today, health care, or as simple as Columbia’s holiday
not just colleges. And it is not something that break schedule, it’s a good thing for people to
just developed over the last 15 months, or eight get angry when they see injustice, but only if
years, or even 20 years. These protests are a they put that anger to productive use. I hope
direct and understandable outgrowth of a long- to see more peaceful mass action soon, before
deteriorating civil and political atmosphere.
it’s too late and the next protests are something
Bear with me and consider the following far more serious. Let that fire burn, and clear
fact for a moment: had Hillary Clinton been that dead wood away.
elected president, most young adults in college
would have never lived a single day of their
The author is a student in the School of
lives until now without a Bush or a Clinton as General Studies majoring in classical studies.

THE ANGRY PEN

Daniel Amzallag is a Columbia College
junior majoring in political science and
English. Outside the Gates runs alternate
Tuesdays.

Think something’s right on? Write on.
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opinion@columbiaspectator.com

COMIC BY IGOR SIMIC

March 30, 2010

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Pick up a copy of tomorrow’s
paper for a profile on the Athlete
of the Week, Nicole Ross, who
captured the NCAA women’s
foil title.

TOMORROW

TOMORROW

Tuesday, March 30, 2010 • Page 6

s a senior,

watching the
rest of the
University
begin to go
through proL isa
gram filing
L ewis
right now
makes me a
T hat’s
bit nostalgic.
What
I rememShe S aid ber going
through the
online course catalog, creating my spreadsheet of dates,
times, places, and professors, and going on CULPA
to make sure I didn’t end up
with any more crappy professors. Yet in my four years, I
was never able to take a class
on sports. It wasn’t like I
had a whole lot of options—
Sunil Gulati offers a Sports
Economics course for big
bad CC students only. Other
than that, the pickings were
slim for undergrads.
Why, at a school that
values the liberal arts tradition so deeply, would there
be departments dedicated to
art history, dance, anthropology, sociology, and extinct
languages, yet no major in
sports history?
Taken as an umbrella
term for competitive athletic activities, sports is quite
possibly the most relevant
multi-disciplinary area of
study in the history of human accomplishments.
Yeah, I’ll grant that Picasso’s
“Guernica” is pretty coollooking. I’ll accept that Max
Weber has made some contributions to understanding
the human
species.
But those
black fists
raised in
the air
and those
downcast
eyes on the
Summer
Olympics
podium in
1968 were
just as
influential
on society
as any canvas or musical.
Courses in the sports
major could include the
history of sporting—from
that really, really long run to
Marathon to the most recent
World Cup. There could be
a course on sports philosophy, on coaching strategy, on
the evolution of basketball.
Courses would be offered
on the sociology of race and
economics in sports, and discuss the opportunities sports
have given for the underprivileged to attend college
in the United States. There
could be a class on how
sports affected civil rights
and gender equality and how
sports became politicized.
There might be a course on
the history of the National
College Athletic Association,
Major League Baseball, or
the National Basketball
Association (bet that one
would be a doozy!). Old-hat
coaches would now have a
new option instead of retirement—talk to Columbia students about what strategies
and coaching calls worked in
the good old days.
Sports history is an area
of study that could flourish
with some academic focus:
Several prominent economists spend their spare time
working out equations to

explain what makes teams
win, psychologists have
studied why batters get hit
more by pitchers on hotter
days, and sports journalists
have put together Biblesized anthems devoted to
every sport and team known
to man. Most recently, Bill
Simmons wrote the book
on basketball—literally.
Maybe there is a simple
equation that explains why
some teams win and others don’t. If more obscure
sports like archery and fencing and lacrosse got some
extra attention from academics, it would be incredible to watch the stories of
hundreds of thousands of
athletes finally get the recognition they deserve. Each
thread and development in
sports—from mouth guards
to left guards—has its own
backstory and its own innovators to thank.
Other disciplines or
markets for the arts have
been struggling to survive as
today’s consumers demand
bigger, better, and more
output. Dancers, dependent
upon the patronage of the
mega-wealthy and government grants—indeed, artists
and actors generally—hold
down another job or two
while they try to make it
big in their trade. Sports,
meanwhile, have been thriving. The multi-billion dollar
industry needs no government subsidies to stay alive—
demand has risen to meet
the supply of super-human
talents coming out of high
schools and colleges every
year. Authoritative dance and
theater
scholar
Lynne
Conner
argues
that the
prominence of
sports
within
social
culture
is here
to stay
because
of the
experiential nature of sports.
In contrast to crowds for a
ballet performance that clap
politely, sports fans are allowed to get raucous, cheer
when they love something,
and boo when they don’t.
Sports fans get their hands
dirty, whether by writing
on sports blogs, filling out
March Madness brackets, or
throwing viewing parties.
When was the last time you
saw anybody high-five over
a painting at the Museum of
Modern Art?
Omitting sports from a
liberal arts education deprives students of a full perspective on human creativity, talent, and the ability to
innovate. Watch what Magic
Johnson (or, perhaps, John
Wall) does with a basketball
and tell me that’s not art.
Look at the achievements of
Jackie Robinson and tell me
that isn’t a turning point in
this country’s history. Sports
insert themselves into every
academic field in some way,
and deserve a little more recognition for their contributions to this country.

Omitting sports from
a liberal education
deprives students of a
full perspective on
human creativity,
talent, and the ability
to innovate.

Lisa Lewis is a Barnard
College senior majoring in
economics.
sportseditors@
columbiaspectator.com

What to

Watch

The editors’ picks for the
week ahead

jasper clyatt / senior staff photographer

NOT ENOUGH BITE | Despite several solid outings from junior Dan Bracey and a promising season from freshman Stefan Olson, the Light Blue’s performances from the mound have left a lot to be desired. Only two pitchers have above .500 records, and they combine for only 20.2 innings pitched.

Sporadic pitching squanders Columbia’s hot bats

BY MICHAEL SHAPIRO
Spectator Senior Staff Writer
The Columbia Lions baseball
team is just over a third into its
2010 campaign, and one nonconference game away from kicking
off Ivy play. Most followers of
Columbia baseball know that the
Lions endure an arduous series
of pre-conference road games
prior to conference play. Many
of these adversaries have longer pre-seasons and more cooperative weather to practice, and
some are even nationally ranked.
Columbia currently holds a 7-11
record on the season, which is
neither outstanding nor a reason
to consider drastic roster adjustments. The Lions do, however,
need to focus more on pitching.
After a crushing ninth-inning
21-22 loss last Wednesday to St.
John’s, the reality of the Light
Blue’s inconsistent pitching hit
way too close to home.
The Lions have, for the most
part, put up admirable offensive
numbers this season. Sophomore
Alex Aurrichio has stepped up to
the plate and currently leads the
squad with a blistering .389 batting average, five home runs, 18
RBI, and an incredible .796 slugging percentage. Jon Eisen and
Dean Forthun have also proven
to be formidable hitting forces.
Eisen’s batting average is currently at the .368 mark, with 17 runs
scored on a team-best 25 hits,
and Forthun ranks third on the
team in batting average with .314.
But while the Lions hold a
combined batting average of
.282 and score an average of seven runs per game, the pitching
staff has struggled to subdue its
opponents’ offense. The rotation
has primarily consisted of Pat
Lowery, Dan Bracey, and freshmen Stefan Olson and Tim Giel.
None of these four core starting
pitchers holds a winning record
and, in fact, only reliever Roger
Aquino and Derek Squires hold
records over .500. The starting
rotation has a combined ERA of
5.75. Therefore, the bullpen must
share in the blame.
Columbia’s earned run average hovers just over seven, and
the staff has allowed 44 more hits
than the Lions’ 2009 lineup did.
While the Light Blue has usually received ample run support
to lock in W’s, its bullpen has

been close to disastrous. Geoff
Whitaker, who started eight
games last season for a 6.89 ERA,
was demoted to a bullpen position
to give him a chance to work on
control and consistency. Whitaker
averaged one run surrendered per
inning last season, and is on the
very same track in 2010 with 15
runs allowed in just 15.2 innings
of play. He has walked seven batters, thrown two wild pitches, and
beaned three hitters while only
striking out eight and holding opponents to an unsatisfactory .342
batting average.
Sophomore reliever Harrison
Slutsky has also suffered severe
control problems in 2010 after
a relatively successful freshman
campaign. Slutsky limited batters
to just a .265 batting average in
2009, but has nearly doubled that
number to .462 this season. With
Slutsky on the mound, 23 runners
have crossed home, amounting to
nearly 15 percent of the total runs
scored by Columbia’s adversaries
in 2010. In 11 innings of work this
year, Slutsky has almost surpassed
the 25 runs he allowed last season over his 24.2 innings of relief.
His ERA this season stands at an
alarmingly high 12.71, which is
reflected in his 0-2 record.
While the starting pitching has
been subpar in 2010, and several
relievers have been struggling as
well, Columbia’s 11 losses must be
contributed to the timing of shoddy mound appearances. Opponents
have reached double-digits in seven
of the team’s 11 losses, thus leaving
the offense with the unfair task of
out-producing such high numbers. In fact, Columbia’s offense has
reached the double-digit mark three
times this season, and has lost every
game in which it has done so. The
Lions have seen two quintessential
examples of pitching and defense
not giving their bats an opportunity
to win the game.
One failure was against
Virginia Tech two weeks ago,
when the Light Blue fell 22-10.
Stefan Olson, who has overall been impressive this season,
started for the Lions and gave up
a quick seven runs (three earned)
in two innings of work. Down 8-1
early in the contest, Columbia’s offense produced seven runs in the
fourth to tie the game at eight runs
apiece. Virginia Tech tacked on
two in their next at bats, and the
Lions followed suit with two more

runs to keep the game knotted at
10. However, six Light Blue relievers couldn’t keep the score even, as
they allowed a dozen more runs
to cross home over the remaining
frames of the ballgame.
The most noticeable and painful
example of Columbia’s pitching losing its touch at the wrong time came
against St. John’s last Wednesday.
The four-and-a-half-hour marathon was a shocking spectacle for
college baseball fans nationwide.
The story remained the same as in
the last heart-sinking loss, as the
starting pitching came out of the
gate flaky, allowing eight runs in
just four innings of play. However,
behind 6-0 entering the fourth, the
Lions posted seven runs to take a
short-lived 7-6 lead. In the seventh
inning the Lions took a 9-8 lead, but
gave up five runs in the next frame
to fall behind yet again, 13-9.
In its biggest offensive display
in recent years, Columbia scraped
together a remarkable 10 runs in
the eighth inning to grab a 1913 lead. Columbia relief pitching
needed just six outs to win, but
relievers Slutsky, Ricky Kleban,
and Roger Aquino could not get
the job done. St. John’s scored five

more runs in the eighth inning to
close the gap to 19-18. The last
burst of Lions offense came in the
top of the ninth, as it posted two
more cushion runs, but St. John’s
rallied in the bottom frame and
stole a walk-off win with a fourrun ninth.
Despite these setbacks, this
past weekend’s four-game sweep
against Bucknell should give fans
reason for optimism. While the
offense produced an adequate
five runs in each of the first two
games of the series and six runs
in each of the next two, the pitching staff was on fire. The Bison
only scored one run in their 5-1
loss in game one, in which Dan
Bracey hurled a seven-inning
complete game. The Light Blue
limited Bucknell to just three
runs in game two and gave up a
respectable five runs in both of
the latter two series games.
Simply stated, Columbia’s
pitching staff, from start to finish,
needs serious revamping entering
conference play this weekend. If
the Lions can continue to hold opponents to fewer runs in upcoming games, they have the offense to
make a run for the Ivy title.